The Big Four: Tale as Dark as Time
by TheFitzgeraldWriters
Summary: When Father Time warns against Pitch's return, the Guardians are sent back in time to team up with Merida, Hiccup, and Rapunzel. Together, the Big Four and Guardians will battle against the dark forces of time. [Jack x Rapunzel] [Hiccup x Merida] Rated K for some violence. Fluff!
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Alright, before we begin this crazy tale, we need to go over a couple things that you need to understand as a reader. Many of the things you'll read in this story may appear "unrealistic" and "imaginary" to you. Some people mentioned will probably sound familiar. You'll hear the names "Jack Frost" and the "Easter Bunny" come up a few times, and that's when I'm sure you'll start to dismiss it as untrue and a fake story that never really happened. I'm sure by this point, many of you have grown quite a bit and brushed off the stories about Santa Claus coming down your chimneys to deliver presents and dragons roaming this earth as childish tales created by adults to entertain children and trick them into being good. Well, forget all of that, as I am here to tell you that all of those stories are, in fact, true. And today, you are about to become a witness to one of the most magical and spell-binding adventures ever experienced, about four extraordinary heroes that banded together to save our world from the treacherous forces of evil. It all began one seemingly normal day…

 _Author's Note:_ Hey guys! We are so excited to be starting this story, this is our first fanfic ever! Please leave us a review, let us know what we're doing right or wrong, we'd love to hear from you guys!


	2. Chapter One: Snowballs and Fun Times

**MAD HATTER'S DISCLAIMER: "Rise of the Guardians" and its characters belong to Dreamworks and William Joyce. I own nothing and write this purely out of entertainment purposes.  
**

 **Chapter One: Snowballs and Fun Times**

"Snow day!" came the cheers of several young voices.

In a snow covered park, a group of young kids could be seen running around and pelting one another with snowballs, taking full advantage of their day off from school. Jamie Bennett tugged his cap back over his ears and positioned himself behind his small fort, ready to chuck another snowball at the opposing team. But before he could so much as lift his arm, a pile of snow landed on his head.

"Agh, Jack!" he yelled out, glaring up above him. Now, to the adult eye, most would claim that the young boy was looking at absolutely nothing, dismissing it as a child's overactive imagination. But believers, the special few who possess the ability to see magic in everyday life, would be able to see a young teen with white hair and a frost covered staff floating above the disgruntled boy.

Jack Frost laughed at his friend's frustration. "Gotta be faster, Jamie!" he teased and flew off.

The fight continued on, flurries of snow being thrown at each running figure that darted across the battlezone. There was excitement in each of the kid's expressions, screams of laughter each time someone was hit, and a general air of joy over the entirety of the fun activity.

And Jack was loving every minute of it.

The newest Guardian was still basking in the happiness that came with having his first believers. It was only a year ago that children around the world started seeing him, much like his fellow Guardians. His first believer, in fact, was his best friend Jamie, who at this very moment was chasing after Jack with a snowball, determined to get revenge.

"Get back here!" Jamie giggled, trying in vain to catch up with the flying winter spirit.

"Gotta catch me first!" Jack called back with a grin, speeding faster to put a greater distance between the two. The young boy ran after him, trying his best to gain enough speed and get close enough to hit Jack's fast figure.

Too focused on catching his target, Jamie was oblivious to the fact that a snow drift was coming up in his path. As Jack moved to fly over it, Jamie tried to stop his fast pace, but was too late, and tumbled in a whirlwind of snow down the small-ish hill. Jack turned abruptly at the sound of Jamie's shout of "ahhhh!".

"Jamie!" he called, obvious worry stretched on his expression, and dove through the air after his friend's falling figure.

Jamie eventually hit the bottom of the hill with an "oof!", and laid there in a slightly limp manner. Jack reached him almost instantly, crouching next to him, tugging him over gently so the young boy was lying on his back and looking up at him.

"Are you okay?" Jack asked him quickly, checking to see if there were any obvious injuries.

"Jack," Jamie began, slightly breathless after his tumble. "Come closer, I need you to do something for me."

Eager to help his young friend, Jack leaned down to hear him better, ready to get him anything, only to have a handful of snow shoved into his face.

"Ha! I got you!" Jamie exclaimed, a bright grin on his face. He jumped up quickly, and sped back up the hill, calling over his shoulder, "Now let's see if you can catch _me_!"

A snow-covered Jack stared after Jamie, dumbfounded and completely in shock at his friend's sneaky move. But then a wide smile broke out over his expression, secretly proud of his antics. Jack weaved his fingers into his already frosty white hair and ruffled a bit of snow away from his head, stood up, and flew after him.

"Oh, it's on!" he laughed to his friend's running form. "You don't want to start a snowball fight with Jack Frost _himself_!"

Once they reached the top and got back to the original battle, they were rejoined by the others.

Jamie's friends were also some of Jack's first believers, having helped Jack and the other Guardians in the fight against Pitch Black, also known as The Boogeyman, from last Easter. This included: Pippa, a girl with bright red hair and a brighter personality; Monty, a boy with glasses and nervous exterior, but always ready to help and have fun; Claude and Caleb, twins that had a mischievous side to them; and Cupcake, a girl that to most seemed intimidating on the outside, but once you got to know her, was actually a fun-loving and pink unicorn obsessed friend. The group also included Jamie's little sister, Sophie Bennett, who was just as spirited and eccentric as the older kids. The whole group of them were currently making their way over to Jack and Jamie's own private fight, ready to join in on the craziness about to unfold.

Their battle cries reached the ears of the two boys that were ready to chuck all of the snow they could get their hands on at each other. They both turned to the swarm of kids heading their way and smiled, eager for them to join. And once they did, it all turned into utter chaos.

The main target of the fight was, not surprisingly, Jack himself. It was no question that Jack was the most skilled in these kind of situations, as it was his element of snow and having fun. Snowballs and fun times, as he had once described himself to be all about. Which makes it understandable as to why the other children would want to get him out first, making the battle a lot easier for themselves. But Jack wasn't going down without a fight.

Using his flying to his advantage, he soared up above the kids, pelting them with the snowballs he would create out of thin air. Jamie attempted to hit him with his own snowballs, but Jack was too far up above him to reach.

"Gotta try harder than that, Jamie!" Jack taunted, and then sped off to target Pippa and Cupcake.

Jamie growled half-heartedly under his breath, wanting to once, _just once,_ beat the Winter Spirit at his own game. Thinking to himself for a split second, a mischievous grin broke out across his face.

He had an idea.

Rushing over to Caleb, Claude, and Monty, who were engaged in their own small battle, Jamie waved his arms to get their attention.

"Hey, guys!" he half-whispered, half-called over to them. They prepared themselves in case Jamie began to throw snowballs at them, but he raised his arms quickly.

"Woah, cease fire!" he exclaimed quickly, and luckily for him, they dropped their ammo. "I have an idea on how to make this fight a little more fair for all of us". They grinned at one another.

On the other side of the snowy field was an oblivious Jack, throwing snowballs at Pippa, Cupcake, and Sophie. He was unaware of the secret planning happening behind them, and was even more unaware of Jamie discreetly motioning something to the girls. They all grinned and nodded quickly, moving to quickly make more snowballs. Jack remained oblivious to the children that had started circling around him, as he was suspended in the air. It was only when he heard Jamie's cry of "FIRE!" that he noticed what was happening.

Before he could so much as whip his head around to see them all around him, Jack was blasted with a large amount of snowballs, the force of them all and the shock of it knocking him out of the air. He landed on the snowy ground in a heap, and couldn't even move as the snowballs started pelting at him from up above.

As soon as he had fallen, the circle of kids had enclosed on Jack's fallen form and began to chuck the snowballs down on him, laughing as Jack attempted to curl up to prevent more snowballs from hitting him. This continued on for awhile, only stopping when Jamie declared it over.

"Alright guys!" he called to his friends. "I think he's had enough." They ceased their rain of snowballs on Jack,and they all burst out laughing when the Winter Spirit peeked out from under his arm to see if it was actually safe.

"Guess we won, huh?" Jamie chuckled, and Jack turned his shocked expression to him.

"Kid, I have lived over 300 years and I have never, _never,_ had anyone beat me at my own game," he said breathless. Jamie beamed, slightly proud of himself. But the grin slid right off his face when a wad of snow hit him right in the nose. He blinked through the snow in his eyes to see Jack smirking at him.

"But let's not forget who's the King of snowball fights, shall we?" he questioned, tilting his head. Jamie and the others were stupefied, before all erupting into a fit of laughter, flopping to the ground, clenching their sides.

It was moments like this that made Jack really happy he was the Guardian of Fun for the children all around the world. To him, he couldn't think of a better job to have. And he couldn't think of a better group of kids to share the title with. He sighed with content, their laughter like music to his ears, basking in the positive energy around him.

And then something very peculiar happened.

Once Jack and the others calmed down enough from their laughing fit and picked themselves off the ground, dusting the snow off their clothes, they began to notice the bands of light that were appearing in the blue sky. It had been hard to see them at first, the faint lights blended into the background of the light sky making them almost invisible - and Jamie and his friends had to squint their eyes to see them. But as more bands of light materialized, it became easier to distinguish the different colors.

The ribbons of colorful light weaved together, their mixture of green, blue, pink, gold, and purple sticking out against the light sky like a sore thumb. To the normal eye, it was a beautiful sight to enjoy, maybe even to ponder over. Why were the Northern Lights appearing during the day, and in Burgess, Pennsylvania, of all places? But to those who knew, it was a call.

The call of the Guardians.

"Jack, is that-" Jamie began to question, but Jack cut across him with his answer.

"North's signal, yeah". He looked up at the lights with his dark eyebrows scrunched together.

 _Is this like, a routine meeting?_ He thought to himself. _Is there something wrong?_

Jack turned his attention back to Jamie.

"It's probably nothing," Jack waved his hand in dismissal, trying not to worry Jamie and the others. But he secretly had no idea what North's reason was for summoning the Guardians. "I'm sure it's just routine Guardian business, nothing too important." Jack ignored Jamie's suspicious gaze, instead he leaned down to hug him, which Jamie returned.

Jack made sure to do this every time he said goodbye to Jamie. Not that he would ever admit this to anyone, but it was a secret reassurance to himself that Jamie could still see him.

Standing up again, he ruffled Jamie's hair, messing up his hat, and gave him a light-hearted grin. "I'll see you later, squirt. North probably just wants to talk about the weather for Christmas." With a wave to all the other kids, he shot up into the sky.

Flying through the air briefly, he turned at the feeling of an upcoming wave of cold wind heading for him. "Hey wind!" he yelled out to it, getting it to morph slightly, almost as if it was awaiting Jack's command. "To the North Pole!" he called, grinning as the current rushed to him, pushing him to the direction of Santa's famous workshop.

By the time Jack reached his location, the sun had already set, with the moon shining bright in the dark sky. The large, domed building sat nestled into the snowy mountains, hidden from anyone that was unaware of its location. He flew around, looking for a way to get in when he spotted an open window propped out of the roof. Soaring through it, he found himself in North's main part of the workshop, the giant globe lit up with the lights of believers in the very center of it. Jack saw all the other Guardians gathered around it, North's large figure stood at the head of the controls, while the tall grey and green figures of The Easter Bunny, otherwise known as "Bunny", and the Tooth Fairy, or "Tooth", were at his left. To his right stood the small, gold figure of the Sandman, or as the other's called him, "Sandy".

The Guardians, the protectors of children's joy, hope, wonder, dreams, and memories, were gathered together for what Jack was sure to be another unimportant meeting.

Yet, they all looked worried. No, not worried. Almost terrified.

Jack flew over to them quickly, taking notice of their pensive expressions, and they turned to acknowledge his entrance.

"Hey guys, is everything al-" he trailed off when they stared at him with varying expressions of distress. Jack's eyes widened slightly at this; he had never seen them looked so... _afraid._

North was the first to speak, though it came out as almost a whisper. "He's back."

Jack looked at him in confusion, but his staff nearly slipped out of his fingers when the realization came.

"He's back. Pitch Black has returned."

 _Author's Note_ : Hello dear friends, Mad Hatter here. Sorry for the cliffhanger! I couldn't help myself! I know we only saw Jack and the Guardians in this chapter, but I can assure you the others will be introduced in due time. Again, leave us a review! We'd love to hear from you!


	3. Chapter Two: When?

**GENIE'S DISCLAIMER: I DON'T EVEN OWN A GLUE STICK, WHY WOULD I OWN THESE MOVIES THAT ARE CLEARLY FROM DREAMWORKS AND DISNEY?**

 **ALSO DISCLAIMER: This story takes place a bit before Rapunzel's 18th birthday, in between How to Train Your Dragon 1 & 2, and after Merida's whole shabang. **

**Enjoy.**

Chapter Two: When?

"I love you, dear."

"I love you more."

"I love you _most_."

A bright young girl stood gazing upwards with wide eyes to her mother. She held the woman, silently thanking her for her protection, not wanting her mother to leave her there alone, again.

"Rapunzel? Are you alright?"

The girl released her mother, taking the time of stepping back to hide behind a length of her hair and placing a well known facade in front of her. There was nothing that she wanted more in her life than to go out and finally see the world that her mother had been protecting her from. She didn't see the harm in going outside, even just for a little while. Under her mother's protection she should be fine.

But, it was no use to harp on this matter. As seen before, asking to explore only brought a night of silence until it was time to brush her hair. Rapunzel didn't want her mother to leave for her journey while being upset with her, so.

The familiar facade was plastered on.

"Yes, mother. I'm just going to miss you for the next few days, is all."

With an arched eyebrow, her mother gently held two strands of Rapunzel's long and golden hair. She marveled at its majestic compounds.

"Don't you worry, my dear. I'll be back in only four days time."

They both smiled as Rapunzel moved over towards the window, finding the specially placed hook and swinging her hair into its hold like a long, thick rope. Her mother now stood besides her with a wicker basket, giving Rapunzel a quick kiss on the cheek, and stepped up onto the solid window sill. Throwing up the hood to her long, black cape, she tightly grasped a handful of Rapunzel's hair.

Rapunzel tightened her own grip on the hair as her mother stepped off of the ledge, holding her mother's weight with her locks, using the pulley system to slowly lower the woman to a gentle landing on the greenest grass, about twelve stories below her. She made sure to lower plenty of hair to allow her mother to descend, while also keeping plenty of slack so as to not hurt her own scalp.

Eventually, Rapunzel's mother made it to the ground, waved, and began walking away from the tower. Rapunzel slouched herself heavily onto the sill, peering out with young wide eyes, taking in the natured painting in front of her that never seemed to change. All around her there was beauty, and things to be discovered. Just spending the day down right next to the base of the tower would be a dream come true. She'd never felt grass, never experienced a summer breeze that engulfed her entire being. Never has gotten to splash around in water, or touch the bark of a tree. Rapunzel couldn't help herself but wonder about each and every fascination that lay just out of her reach.

She turned herself away from the window with a substantial sigh, wanting to forget the wonders that she couldn't unmask, only to turn into the large room decorated with paintings of her own design. There was no wonder there anymore.

She had explored every inch, every room, every small space, and knew exactly where every crack lay, where every single imperfection, paint smudge, crooked tile and repaired seam of linen lie. There was absolutely nothing left to the imagination of the small tower space that Rapunzel had never even seen the exterior of.

She walked her way up the wooden stairs, bare feet already detecting which steps would creak, making her way up to her bedroom. Her hand pulled back the dark maroon curtain that cut her off from the rest of the space. She mindlessly passed a bookshelf next to the entryway of her room and thoughtlessly picked a story off of it, knowing exactly which book it was just by touch and its placement on her shelf.

She heaved herself and the book haphazardly onto her bed, already made, with the pillows being arranged in one of the 26 possible ways that they could be arranged. The book landed somewhat away from one of her outstretched hands, forgotten as the girl's eyes desperately tried to break through the mundane ceiling that had been painted and repainted to its extent long ago. Rapunzel racked her brain, trying to paint a picture of what the clouds would look like over her room today. Maybe there was a tall tree behind the tower that would gently frame the outskirts of the clouds above her room. Maybe the tree held a nest, something Rapunzel had always wanted to see. She could just imagine it.

'What if there was a floating light caught in that tree?'

Rapunzel sat up as she thought of the possibilities of where all of the floating lights could have landed, assuming the lights were lanterns, perhaps. But she grew frustrated as she couldn't picture any outdoor space besides the ones that were entombed in the frame of the windows in the tower. Her birthday was in a couple of months. Rapunzel lay back down onto her mattress, just now realizing her head lay at the foot of her bed. She wondered, ' _when will this stalemate end?'._

Finally she closed her eyes to imagine the annual flight of the lights, blessing the night sky on each and every one of her birthdays, coloring the beautiful world that stood outside of her grey universe. She sang softly,

"When will my life begin?"

The sky was a rich blue, filled with the flurrying colors of beautiful creatures, magnificent and docile.

People gathered and walked side by side with these creatures, an act that was once thought of to be insane, forbidden, and filled with betrayal. But now, thanks to the young man that stood on a grassy hill looking down upon his home, Berk was filled with the sight of dragons. Amazing creatures with unfathomable wonders, secrets to be discovered, and spit to never be washed out of clothes.

"Ah! Toothless! We've talked about the licking!" A black night fury danced in the tall grass, rolling onto its back, with wide eyes, pleading for undeniable forgiveness. Hiccup, the young man, trudged his way over to his best friend, his metal prosthetic foot sinking into the mud as to the kitten-eyed dragon, currently waving his paws in the air above his stomach. Hiccup watched Toothless get some of the swaying grass stuck in his mouth, finally pulling the dragon to get off of its back and his head away from the ground. Toothless may be a brave and elusive creature in battle, but he proved to be no match to the many wonders of the swaying tall grass. Toothless went to lunge into another fight with it when he heard the sound of metal clicking into place. The dragon whisked himself around, almost taking Hiccup out with his long tail. He watched as Hiccup set up his prototype of a new prosthetic which allowed, well, hopefully allowed him to fly Toothless with more agility and stability. "Alright, bud. Let's try this thing out!"

Hiccup expertly pulled himself onto Toothless's back, an act that had gotten a lot easier since Hiccup had started to bulk up a bit. He tied all of the necessary ropes, and closed the necessary clamps, stammering his new contraption into the left 'foot hole', again tying the necessary ropes, closing the necessary clamps. Facing forward, he patted Toothless on the head, attempting to calm any nerves that his friend may have.

This was new, but it was also something Hiccup was confident in.

As Hiccup removed his hand from Toothless's head, he grasped the handles of the saddle, and held his breath as he was propelled into the air.

Hiccup couldn't hold back the grin on his face from excitement, again, in the air, just him and his best friend. It wasn't until Hiccup's bird-eye view of Berk was beginning to shake that he remembered his duty of steering this flying beast. He sat up, more prepared, and began his attempts to twist his prosthetic. He thought he heard a click, and gingerly swayed his head around to see if Toothless's own prosthetic was following his own movements. It was.

"YEAH!" Hiccup swung his arms upward in success, the relief of his hard work accelerating his excitement. "Alright, you're doing great, bud! Let's see if we can take it higher, now!" Hiccup twisted the prosthetic and Toothless angled his wings, soaring the two upwards towards the now goldening sky. Hiccup held his breath as they shot through the thick clouds, gasping as they broke out on top of it all.

He gawked as Toothless glided, the sun and the clouds dancing off each other, creating a heavenly painting that just couldn't be seen from the ground. Hiccup never got tired of that sight. And now, he would never have to. He had the best control of Toothless's flight he could ever hope for, and now the two of them were free to romp the land excessively, find the wonders, and escape Hiccup's father's constant chiefly harping. Hiccup breathed and laid backwards, something that he loved doing, taking in the moving sky passing by him. But little to Hiccup's knowledge, he couldn't do that anymore because his prosthetic cranked the gears two more levels, sending Toothless spiraling in the air. Panic drenched Hiccup's face as he hurled himself up straight again, holding the gut-wrenched dragon's head with one hand for reassurance, and holding the saddle handle with the other for control.

But they were spiraling downwards now, and Hiccup was coming loose from his position on Toothless's back. Now they were each free-falling down through the clouds, Hiccup's eyes caught the beautiful picture of wonder and freedom slant as he fell away from it, becoming colder as they fell towards impact, bracing for whatever was to come. Hiccup's eyes were caught by Toothless's wide green eyes, seemingly apologizing for this outcome.

In the air Hiccup reached out and grabbed his best friend, the only one who he could ever truly trust. The only one that ever understood him. He hugged his best friend, wanting to be together through it all, closing his eyes when he could begin to see where they would land. Toothless's hold on Hiccup grew tighter just before -

The pair were hanging side-by-side in trees, their fall being impacted and absorbed by the new, thick canopy of a forest. They each slowly open their eyes, staring forwards for a moment, and then turning their heads synchronously towards one another. Each let out a still breath, almost of laughter, but mostly relief. But their journey wasn't over yet. A harsh crackling sound shrieked in their ears, forcing their eyes to jet open. As their supporting branches broke, the pair tumbled down between the remaining branches, landing on the thickly mossed ground, scuffed and scraped. The two battered friends moaned in pain, no horrific damage, but the pain was there, nonetheless.

Thick, grey fog was the medium between the thick moss, and the thick canopy that now had a small gap of where the two showmen had made their entrance. It was still, and quiet. Someplace new…

Hiccup groaned again, happy that they weren't dead but noticing the fact that lay in front of him now.

He had failed in making something for his and Toothless's freedom. He had hoped so _badly_ that this would work.

Hiccup didn't get up. Either out of frustration or pain, probably the latter, he just lay there on his back, and shifted his head to face upwards. Just wondering.

'When can I be free?'

"I don't want to get married!" a Scottish voice was to be heard whining throughout the castle.

"Merida, I _know!_ It's not me who's croudin' the dining hall, now, is it?" The mother of the young woman peered out of her daughter's bedroom window, wincing at the blows that each "man" had been taking at one another. She had also been wincing every time her fiery daughter swung another chip out of the wooden stands of her bed using her sword. It was still a sight of which the Queen had to take in, and accept. Her wild young princess was just like her father, but with the tiniest twinkle of her own self there, too.

Beneath the stony-hearthed bedroom of Merida, was a stony-fiery dining hall where all of the manliest brutes of the four clans battled each other in a game of the imperatively trivial. They were loud, violent, daring and..

"HAIRY! Mum, they're all so hairy! I'm not goin' to be marryin' one of 'em."

"Well I've tried to send them home, but none of 'em will leave! How about ye get yeself down there and send 'em all packin'." The girl swung another hard slash into the bed frame, groaning at the thought of seeing them flex and wiggle their eyebrows at her…

"AHHG!" two more quick slashes in the wood, and then Merida dropped the sword to clash as it hit the hard floor. Merida walked over to the fireplace, the only illumination for the room, and picked her bow off of a hook that hung next to the hearth. As Merida heard her mother's audible sigh, she knew that she didn't approve, but was accepting her frequent outings with her bow as something that was just part of their life now. Merida smiled at her mom as she swung herself out of the doorway and closed the thick wooden door so that her mother wouldn't hear the growing brute noises all the way from downstairs. With a bit of a skip in her step, Merida snatched an apple out of the bowl that sat on the stony-slabbed counter. She had taken the back route so as to not be intercepted by the animals in her dining room. She made her way out of the kitchen exit, tossing a found pastry under the counter where she knew at least one of her three little monster brothers stalked, waiting for a moment to grab more sweets.

A grin on her face, she walked her way to the stables. Her horse, Angus, in the very end stable, stirred around as he knew another adventure was coming. Merida approached her good friend with a hand behind her back, a trick Angus was already familiar of. He stopped, suddenly standing tall and powerful, his head held high, but his excited eyes still peering down at Merida.

"Aw, what a good boy." Merida rubbed the nose of her black and white stallion, raising an apple from behind her back. Angus's stance was immediately compromised as he quickly gobbled up the treat. She laughed and swung her previously-received quiver over her shoulder, and hung the bow round her body. She swung herself onto Angus and without a hesitation she was off, flying away from all of her duties, and obligations, all of the manly smells and darkened halls of the castle receding behind her. As the hard clapping of Angus's shoes on the stone suddenly stopped, and the thumping of the stallion's speed on the dirt started, Merida let out an exasperated "AHHHHH!" As she quickly approached her first of many targets, she joyfully twirled her bow away from her body, and ripped an arrow out, clipping it onto the horse-hair string and aiming boldly. Steady, steady..

"YA! ANGUS, DID YE SEE THAT?!" The horse ran faster to give her the challenge that he knew she craved. They flew themselves through the forest, Merida never missing one of the 42 targets set up on her route to her destination, not even when Angus jumped over a fallen tree did Merida falter on a single wielding shot.

They eventually broke through the forest to an orange-hued opening. Angus stopped abruptly, knowing Merida would catch herself, even if she was wide-eyeing the ferociously tall cliff that towered over her. At the top of that cliff thundered the Fire Falls. She was ambitious enough to climb up the towering rock and bravely drink from the Fire Falls once before, but that had been a while ago. So much had happened since then. And Merida wanted more.

She jumped off of Angus, her wild red hair bouncing as she landed. Merida stared the height of the cliff down, and smiled to herself before picking a secret apple out of Angus's saddle bag.

"Here ye go, Angus. I'll be back soon." she laughed and walked towards the base of the rock. Swinging her bow over her body once again, she grabbed a familiar hold of the wall as she tried her best to retrace her steps upwards. The lowering sun slowly crept away from her, receding to the top of the cliff. She placed her hands and feet in a familiar fashion, breathing heavily as she dangerously made her way higher and higher. She knew she could never tell anyone about this. Her father would marvel at her bravery, but would just boast about it in front of her mother who, despite their new agreement on Merida's lifestyle, would certainly have no part in her free-climbing up the edge of a cliff.

However, no worries were needed as Merida grunted her way up higher and higher, catching up to the fleeting sun. Merida panted as she climbed faster, wanting the lighting to be just right for her to enjoy her hydration. Soon, Merida felt her arm swing over, resting on the ledge. She gasped as she balanced herself enough to do the same with the other arm. Fully extending her arms, Merida brought her vision up to gaze upon the small, flat area of the top of the cliff, the fiery waterfall back-dropping the glowing view.

Merida heaved in her breath as she stood up and slowly made her pace over to the water. Not wanting to waste any time with the darting sun, she stuck out her hands as they filled with water. She indulged herself in its strength and rejuvenation. Gasping, Merida turned to see a vast forest, the sky orange from the setting sun just beyond the castle that Merida could barely see. Her gasps of breath were made with a smile now, as Merida reached out her bow and a single arrow. She drenched the arrow in the waterfall and clipped it onto the bow, quickly sending it into the woods.

Merida let out an exasperated sigh as she slugged herself down onto the hard rock top, laying on her back and peering at the sky and the top of the waterfall. She loved feeling this kind of freedom. And now all she wanted was to be able to feel this freedom in her own home, with the clans away from her independent life. She closed her eyes and wondered,

'When will I just be able to _live_ my _life_?'

 _Author's Note:_ Cello, thanks for taking your rosemary and thyme to read this. If you would be so kind as to leave a comment letting me know how this chapter was, that'd be awesomesauce. Thanks!


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